What wine goes with soup? 8 pairings for soup season

Soup season has officially arrived in Northern Michigan, which means some of our favorite cold-weather dinners are back in rotation.

And of course, we have a few wines in mind to go with them.

So how do you decide what wine to pair with your soup?

The easiest place to start is with the soup itself. Creamy soups usually pair well with wines that have enough acidity to cut through the richness. Tomato-based soups are better suited to lighter, low-tannin reds, while spicy soups often work well with off-dry whites or fruit-forward reds.

Here are a few MAWBY and bigLITTLE wine pairings to try this soup season:

Creamy tomato soup + Grace

Adding cream gives tomato soup a richer texture and softens some of the tomato’s natural acidity. Grace, our brut rosé, has crisp acidity and fresh red fruit that pair nicely with both.

The bubbles are also a good match for the cream, especially if a buttery grilled cheese is joining the meal.

If you prefer a classic tomato soup without cream, Underdog is another good option. Gamay Noir is naturally high in acidity and low in tannin, two qualities that work especially well with tomato.

French onion soup + Underdog

Speaking of Underdog, Gamay Noir is also a classic pairing for French onion soup.

French onion soup combines caramelized onions, savory broth, toasted bread and melted Gruyère. Underdog’s acidity works well with the cheese without adding heavy tannins to the mix. Its red fruit also complements the sweetness that develops as the onions cook.

Chicken noodle soup + Lightning Bug

Chicken noodle soup usually has a lighter profile, with savory broth, chicken, vegetables and herbs sharing the bowl.

Lightning Bug is a dry white blend made with Pinot Blanc, Auxerrois, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris. Its crisp acidity works well with the salt in the broth, and the wine is light enough for the chicken, noodles and vegetables.

If your recipe leans heavily on fresh herbs, Dune Climb is another bottle worth trying. Sauvignon Blanc is especially friendly with green, herbal flavors.

Roasted butternut squash soup + CCS Cuvée 2

Roasting butternut squash concentrates its natural sweetness, and many recipes pair it with sage, brown butter or warm spices.

CCS Cuvée 2 is finished with a lavender and honey dosage and has flavors of lemon, orange and warm spice. The honey and spice make sense alongside roasted squash, especially in a smooth, creamy soup.

Try this pairing with a recipe that includes sage or brown butter.

Corn chowder + Honey

Corn chowder combines a creamy base with the natural sweetness of corn, making Honey a fitting bottle to open alongside it.

Honey is a brut sparkling wine made from Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris and finished with a dosage of Sleeping Bear Farms honey. Its acidity cuts through the cream, and the honey dosage picks up on the sweetness of the corn.

If bacon is part of your chowder recipe, Honey’s subtle savory character works nicely here, too.

Mushroom soup + Treehouse

Whether you’re making mushroom bisque or cream of mushroom soup, Treehouse is an easy bottle to reach for.

Mushrooms and Pinot Noir have been paired together for ages, and Treehouse gives that combination a different spin. Made as a white Pinot Noir, it has enough texture for a creamy soup while still letting the earthy, savory flavor of the mushrooms come through.

Try it with a soup seasoned with thyme or finished with Parmesan.

Chili + Redd

Spicy food and highly tannic red wine can be a rough combination. Tannins can make the heat in the bowl taste even hotter, so a fruitier wine with a little sweetness is often a better choice.

Redd is a semi-dry sparkling red with soft berry flavors. The fruit works well with a tomato-based chili, and the touch of sweetness is especially useful if your recipe has some heat.

Be sure to chill Redd before pouring.

As for whether beans belong in the chili, we’ll leave that one to you.

Clam chowder + Blanc

Creamy clam chowder calls for a wine with enough acidity to balance the cream and potatoes.

Blanc is a traditional-method brut with crisp acidity and flavors of baked apple and citrus. The citrus is a natural fit with clams, much like adding a squeeze of lemon to seafood.

The bubbles help balance the chowder’s creamy texture between spoonfuls.

Find your soup season pairing

Recipes change from kitchen to kitchen, so use these pairings as a starting point and taste as you go. The ingredients in your pot will tell you a lot about what to pour alongside it.

From there, it’s just a matter of finding the pairing that works best for you.

Cheers to soup season!